Black Raspberry Ice Cream

I’m going to the Yankees game tonight…I already have my Teixeira shirt on and everything. At about 8:00, I’ll probably be having a chocolate Carvel soft-serve out of a little plastic helmet (along with a beer chaser–classy!). That’ll be pretty great, but I know it won’t be as tasty as the Black Raspberry Ice Cream I made last week.

If this summer is anything like last summer, I’ll be able to get fresh black raspberries at the Greenmarket in a month or two. But they’ll also cost like five bucks a half-pint, and make this one super-expensive batch of ice cream. I noticed frozen black raspberries at Trader Joe’s late last year…one thing I’ve learned about TJ’s since they arrived in NYC is that if I see something that looks interesting, I should just chuck it in my basket, because the next time I go, I’ll be told that it’s been discontinued (or that it’s “seasonal,” which I’m pretty sure is a euphemism for discontinued). I snapped up a bag right away, and unfortunately I haven’t seen them in my local store since.

If you can’t find black raspberries, just use red…heck, the recipe below was originally for red raspberry ice cream anyway. Your ice cream will be less purple and more pink, but it will be every bit as good. If something can taste like summer, this is it. And just like summer, you might even cry a little when it’s gone (not that I’m admitting to having done this).

Have a nice Memorial Day weekend!

P.S.: I cannot even tell you how awesome the ice cream was with this cake…..*sigh*

Steph’s Note: Make the purée by whizzing the black raspberries in a blender or food processor and pressing through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Lebovitz says you should begin with 6 cups (or 750 g) of berries to get the required amount of purée, but I got all I needed from one 340 gram bag of frozen black raspberries, coupled with about 3/4 cup of frozen red raspberries (because one bag of the black was all I had).

-Warm the half-and-half, pinch of salt and about half of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

-In a separate medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg yolks with the other half of the sugar. Slowly pour the warm liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

-Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Vigorously whisk in the xanthan gum, if using, and quickly pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Mix in the raspberry purée and lemon juice, then stir until cool over an ice bath.

-Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, but to preserve the fresh berry taste, churn the ice cream within four hours of making the mixture.

This ice cream looks so delicious I need some asap! I have no black raspberries but I do have some frozen red ones and also some frozen blackberries that I braved chiggers and ticks to pick last summer. I froze them to make jelly, but I think now they’ve been re-purposed. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Just made this, omitting the lemon juice, using black raspberries that my parents grew. This is so wonderful! I took what was left in the strainer (seeds plus a little of the puree) and added it to several ounces of good vodka to make my own infused vodka. I’ll remove from fridge, strain and come up with some delicious use for it. Great recipe! Thanks.